For the Glory
by Perpetual Paradox
Summary: An elite team of inkling battlers lose their edge, and now must rely on a rather inexperienced new recruit to return them to their former glory. Focuses on the six inklings seen in Splatoon promotional art.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't know exactly why, but I decided to write a fanfic based on the six inklings from some of the Splatoon promotional art. I'm not sure how this is gonna go, but maybe we'll find out.**

 **I didn't create any of these characters, I just named them and gave them personalities and stuff. Also I don't own Splatoon, as if there was any confusion surrounding that.**

* * *

A blue inkling clutching his small bag sat by himself on a shuttle bound for Inkopolis. There was quite a wide variety of characters riding with him, many that looked around his age, even. He noticed that across the isle from him sat a girl, an orange inkling wearing a rather large set of headphones, a white shirt and an obnoxiously bright pair of pink shoes. The girl also had what he recognized as a splattershot resting on her lap.

"You a new kid?" someone spoke, and the boy realized it was the girl with the splattershot. He glanced up and found her making eye contact with him, waiting for an answer.

He quickly nodded. "Yeah, I am. I'm on my way to Inkopolis so I can-"

"So am I!" the girl interrupted, which caught him off guard for a moment. She continued with just as much enthusiasm as her earlier outburst. "I was visiting my family, but now I'm heading straight back to the Plaza. Can't wait to reunite with my team."

"Your team?" the blue inkling asked, figuring she was going to talk about it anyway.

"Yeah! My best friends. We're Inkopolis' strongest battlers. Or.. we were. We're in a little bit of a rough patch.. but it's nothing we can't handle!" The girl waved her hand as if to dismiss her previous statement. "Anyway, what's your name, kid? Mine's Ottavia, but you can call me Tavi."

"Blue," he answered. "Actually it's Blumiere, but that's kind of lame, so just call me Blue."

"You betcha," Ottavia replied, giving him a thumbs up. "Blue it is. Kinda suits you, you know... with you being blue and all." She suddenly clasped her hands together. "So kid! What would you say about meeting my crew? You seem like a pretty chill guy."

"Uh, sure I guess," Blue answered with a shrug. He couldn't say no to someone who was essentially offering to show him around the Plaza and introduce him to some people. With him not having a place to stay or even a weapon, it was safe to say that he needed a few pointers.

"Cool! I'll take you right to them as soon as we get there. Just follow me." Ottavia grabbed her splattershot and examined it for a moment. Eventually she looked up from the gun and back at Blue. "Have you ever fought in a turf war?"

Blue shook his head. "I've read about them though, and watched videos. I also watched the Splatfests from home. But no, I've never fought in a battle."

"Yeah well, research can only take you so far. We need to get you into a battle ASAP! You need some experience. And a weapon, from the looks of it..." the girl replied, tapping her chin with her finger. "Hm.. well, what do you think about one of these?" She handed her splattershot to him.

Blue took the weapon and turned it over a few times, examining it. He finally handed it back to her. "Actually, that's sort of what I had in mind."

"We'll drop by to see Sheldon and get you something nice. Then we-" Ottavia was suddenly cut off when the shuttle came to a stop. She flashed a grin at Blue. "Okay! Time to go."

The blue inkling nodded as he stood, once again clutching his bag tightly. He followed Ottavia off the shuttle and through an underground station which eventually led up to Inkopolis Plaza. Once out in the open, the orange inkling girl wrapped her hand around his wrist and pulled him along through the center of Plaza. He relented for the most part, until a tune rang out from above. Blue stopped and glanced up to find a screen light up with a colorful display, and then move into some sort of broadcast.

"Hold onto your tentacles..."

"It's Inkopolis News time!"

"That's Callie and Marie," Ottavia said, who had also stopped to watch. It seemed that most of the crowd in the Plaza had done the same. "They're the Squid Sisters and Inkopolis' celebrities."

"I've seen them before.." Blue mumbled quietly. It was true, he'd seen then in the Splatfest vids but only for a short time. He'd never taken much interest before, though.

"Stay fresh!" the two girls called out with a pose, and the screen went dark. Blue suddenly realized he must have zoned out and missed most of the broadcast.

"Okay, now that that's over, let's go!" Ottavia cheered, once again grabbing a hold of Blue's arm to tug him along, as if he couldn't be trusted to keep the pace himself.

Eventually the two reached a small cafe, which had an outside eating area. It was dotted with couples except for the center, which had a table with four different colored inklings. Ottavia led Blue over to the table, at the same time stealing a pair of chairs from a nearby empty table so they'd have room to sit.

"Tavi!" one of them called out, a green inkling girl. "Who's that you have there?"

"This is Blue," Ottavia introduced them as they both got seated. "He's gonna be our newest member."

"Uh, what?" Blue asked with a rather stern tone. He did not sign up for anything like this. Then again, he wasn't really opposed to it, it just caught him off guard.

"Oh come on, please?" Ottavia begged him, and then paused for a moment to think. "So kid, you just got here right? Have you got a place to stay yet? Money? A weapon?"

"Well, I have some money.." Blue answered, though he had to admit that he didn't have those other things. He had enough to rent a small room for a few nights, but not much more than that.

"Well, if you join up with us, you can stay at our place! For as long as you stick with us. The battles pay the rent. And we'll get you a splattershot! What do you say?" Ottavia proposed, and it seemed as though her eyes had lit up. Blue could tell she was very excited about this.

At first he shrugged. He didn't really have much reason to say no, other than the slight tinge of annoyance at being cornered into saying yes. At any rate, he didn't want to be sleeping in an alley a week from now. "Okay, sure."

Ottavia clapped her hands with glee. "Okay! Now, we should formally introduce you to everyone here." She pointed to the inkling left of her, the green girl that had spoken earlier. She wore a green winter hat, a darker green hoodie and moto boots. "This is Gwen, and she's our sniper."

The green inkling nodded a greeting with a polite smile. "Nice to meet you. I specialize in chargers. When we get into ranked battles, I've got your back. I usually sit out for most turf wars but I'm also a great cheerleader."

Blue smiled back at her, and Ottavia moved onto the next team member. A purple inkling wearing glasses and a polka dot shirt. "This nerdy looking one with the roller is Vale."

"Rude," Vale scoffed, but he broke into a smile as well. "Nice to meetcha. I'm the best at inking turf along with anyone who gets in my way. I'm the most useful in turf wars though."

"He might look a little wimpy, but he packs a huge punch. Okay, moving on," Ottavia rambled, and then pointed to the next inkling. This one was a cyan-colored inkling. He had a paintball mask sitting next to him on the table and wore a gray hoodie. "That's Cassius, and I think he sleeps in that mask of his."

"Only on special occasions," the cyan inkling replied. "Call me Cass for short. It's a bit girly, but I don't really care. Oh, and if you're interested, I use a mini splatling in battle."

"Aaaand last but certainly not least, we have Penny," Ottavia said, gesturing to the last inkling. The girl was pink and wore a red mesh hat with a black tee. There was an inkbrush leaning against the table beside her.

"Hiya, like Tavi said, my name's Penny," the girl said, offering a smile like most of the team had done. Blue smiled back with a wave.

"Perfect, now that we're familiar with everyone, let's head on home. You probably want to get rid of that bag, right?" Ottavia suggested, motioning to the bag that was on Blue's lap.

"Uh, yeah. I wouldn't mind that, actually," Blue replied. The rest of the team began to stand, and so he did as well.

The pink inkling, Penny, clasped her hands together and grinned. "Are you ready guys? We've got some work to do."

* * *

 **A bit of a lame ending, whoops.**

 **Sorry the introduction section was a bit long, that's a lot of inklings. Oh, and in case you're worried that you'll forget which inkling is which color, I gave them a naming scheme. Each inkling's name starts with the same letter that their color starts with. So there's Blumiere "Blue" (Blue), Ottavia "Tavi" (Orange), Gwen (Green), Cassius "Cass" (Cyan), Vale (Violet), and Penny (Pink). Hope that clears up any confusion. And sorry if some of the names seem kind of dumb (especially Ottavia's..), I could not think of anything better.**

 **If you read this, I hope you stick around for more!**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here we are with chapter 2!**

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Blue was relieved that Ottavia was finally allowing him to walk without being pulled along to his destination. On the other hand, it wasn't even that far. The weapon shop they were headed to, Ammo Knights, was just a short walk through Inkopolis Plaza. The six inklings headed inside one by one, with Blue at the rear. He found the interior much to his liking, and his eyes were immediately draw to the shooter class weapons hanging on the walls and in glass cases. But that wasn't all, he could see sloshers, splatlings, rollers and chargers as well.

"Welcome!" a voice called out from the back. Blue stepped out from behind the shoal of squid to catch a glimpse of the store owner, who appeared to be a horseshoe crab.

"Hey Sheldon," the green inkling, Gwen, greeted him. She immediately wandered over to a table where the chargers were found. "Have you gotten that new charger in yet?"

"Yes of course! The Custom E-liter 3K Scope. It has an added scope for long-distance aiming, and it's great for hitting far-off targets! It comes equipped with squid beakons and also features the unstoppable kraken!" Sheldon chattered about the weapon excitedly.

"Looks a little silly, but I'm sold. I'll take it," Gwen replied, picking up the gun.

Blue, meanwhile, had wandered over toward a display case of shooters when the shopkeeper finally noticed him.

"Oh, who's this? A new recruit?"

Blue turned around to face the crab and nodded. "My name's Blue, I'm here to buy my first weapon."

"Oh, wonderful!" Sheldon exclaimed. "Your first weapon, and you picked my store! So, what are you looking for? A shooter? Roller? Maybe a slosher? We just got a new one in."

"Actually," Blue replied, holding up a hand as if to calm the overly-excited Sheldon. "I just wanted a splattershot."

"Just a splattershot? Well, certainly can do! Just give me a moment," the crab replied, disappearing into the back of his shop for a few moments. When he returned, he was carrying the requested splattershot with him. "Here you are, young man. This specific splattershot is equipped with burst bombs and includes bomb rush as a special!"

Blue took the weapon from Sheldon and gave a small smile. "Thanks."

"Of course, of course. Was there anything else you six needed?" Sheldon asked, clasping his hands together.

"Nope, that's just about it," Ottavia replied. She and Gwen paid for the purchases, and group made their way out of the store while Sheldon waved goodbye.

"Alright, now to head back home," Ottavia said with a grin. She turned to Blue, who was sliding his new splattershot into his bag. "You're going to love it, we have the best view. Just wait and see!"

Blue nodded with a faint smile, and the six once again began walking through the Plaza. He took a moment to look around for things he hadn't seen the first time. One thing he noticed right away was a massive Zapfish on Inkopolis Tower. But while he was admiring that odd sight, he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. Blue ended up walking right into an inkling standing in the middle of Inkopolis Plaza, and his new team was nowhere to be found.

"Oh! Uh.. sorry about that," he quickly apologized, but then the other inkling growled. He was a few inches taller, so Blue had too look up in order to make eye contact. It was a purple-colored inkling wearing a camo hoodie and a purple mesh cap. Blue stepped back a bit but the other inkling advanced.

"Hey, Bluey!" Penny's voice called. Blue glanced back and found she and Ottavia running toward him. The purple inkling he had bumped into growled again.

"I should've known you're one of those runts. Got about as much grace on the battlefield as you do walking down the street, it seems," the inkling scoffed.

"Can it, Virion," Ottavia snapped, crossing her arms. This was the first time Blue had heard her speak in such a stern and serious tone.

"Careful there, _Octavia,_ " Virion replied, putting much emphasis on the mispronunciation of her name. "Get a little too rowdy and you might find yourself splatted someday."

Blue clenched his fists. "Hey, leave her alone. Who do you even think you are, anyway?"

Virion reached out and pressed a hand to Blue's chest, shoving him backwards. He didn't fall down, but stumbled back a bit with a growl. Penny placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"Call me Viri," the taller inkling answered. "I'm surprised they haven't told you about me yet. I'm the one responsible for knocking your sorry group off the top. Here, let me give you a word of advice, since you're a newbie and all," Viri said with a hint of a smirk. He learned toward Blue until their faces were uncomfortably close. "You're not gonna make a difference."

Blue flashed his fangs and growled while Virion pulled away. "Just wait and see! You're gonna regret underestimating me."

"Nice comeback. Well, don't disappoint then. I'm sure we'll see each other on the battlefield soon enough. See you around, _runts,_ " Virion said with another smirk and a wave of his hand. With that, he headed off and disappeared into the crowd.

"Don't let him bother you, okay?" Penny said with a sigh. "Viri's been antagonizing us ever since he and his group knocked us off the top. It happened about a year ago during a Splatfest. We've been trying to take back our former glory ever since."

"What good am I, then?" Blue asked. "I've never even been in a battle."

Ottavia shrugged. "You seemed pretty confident about your battling skills when you were talking to Viri."

Blue couldn't help but blush. "Uh, yeah. I might have.. exaggerated a bit."

Ottavia chuckled. "Well, I guess we just have to make sure you can deliver. C'mon, let's head home."

The inkling boy nodded, and with that, the three of them left Inkopolis Plaza while the sun began to set.

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 **And that's it for chapter 2, thanks for reading. I was on the fence on whether or not to include any sort of antagonist this early, but I decided to just go ahead and do it. Oh, and I was thinking that the main characters should maybe have a name for their group. I'll be thinking on it, but if you think you've got one for me, leave it in a review or send me a PM! I'd love to hear it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Do you know how long I spent debating on what kind of home these guys should live in? Do you know how long I spent trying to figure out if six-bedroom apartments even exist? I finally settled on four and even drew out a floor plan for reference. It took hours.**

 **Anyway, here's chapter three.**

* * *

Blue, Ottavia and Penny traveled together to the group's flat since Cassius, Vale and Gwen had already gone ahead. For the most part, it was a quiet trip. This was slightly surprising to Blue, since he'd come to know Ottavia as a chatterbox in the short time he'd been around her, which still wasn't long.

But while Blue pondered on the orange inkling's odd silence, Penny knew the problem. Tavi was reflecting on the short run-in with the antagonistic inkling from earlier. Virion never ceased to make her blood boil, though Penny herself was a bit more level-headed. Still, she didn't bring it up, feeling it was better to just forget about the whole interaction and focus on getting Blue settled in.

They didn't have to go far, since the five had been able to afford a rather nice flat close to the Plaza. Ottavia looked up at the towering building as they approached.

The three entered and took an elevator up to the tenth floor, which already had Blue eager to check out the view.

"Here we are," Ottavia said, sounding like her mood had improved. The elevator doors slid open with a chime and she exited, the other two following close behind. Tavi threw open the unlocked front door and stepped inside, motioning for Blue to follow as well.

Already, Blue was taken aback by the sight of the huge flat. It had an entryway, which narrowed into a hallway that he couldn't see the end of. As he adjusted the strap of his bag, the blue inkling followed Tavi down the hallway. It opened into a wide area with a kitchen on the left and living room on the right. Cass and Gwen were seated on the couch playing some competitive game on the TV, hardly acknowledging their presence.

"There's four bedrooms," Ottavia explained. First, she gestured to a pair of doors on the right side of the room. "The right door is Penny and Gwen's room, and the other is the bathroom." She then pointed to the far end of the room, at an archway that led to another hallway. "Vale's room and my room are down that way. There's another bathroom too." Lastly, she pointed to another door on the left side of the kitchen. "That's Cass' room, but it'll be yours too. Hope you don't mind sharing."

"Uh, nah, I don't mind," Blue replied with a shrug.

A holler came from the inklings on the couch, and Cass stood up. He made his way over to the pair with crossed arms. "So, we're gonna be sharing a room. Hope you don't mind my monster snoring habit."

"Oh, great," Blue sighed in response.

The cyan inkling smirked. "Just kidding. Anyway, it's a big room, so you'll have lots of room for your stuff. C'mon, let's put your bag down." He motioned for Blue to follow and headed into the room.

The bedroom was large, as Cassius had said. It had gray-blue carpet and many weapons hung on the walls, which Blue assumed belonged to Cass. One unmade bed was on one side of the room, and a fresh-looking second bed was on the other.

"That's your bed, over there," Cass said, motioning to the far end of the room. The cyan inkling then walked over to his own bed and hastily attempted to make it look presentable. "So, what took you guys so long?"

"We, uh, ran into someone. Some jerk who knows you guys. I think Tavi called him Viri," Blue answered. He carelessly slid his bag off of his shoulder and tossed it onto his bed. The lack of weight was so much more comfortable.

"Ah, yeah, sorry you had the pleasure of running into him," Cass said, reaching up to rub the back of his neck.

Blue sat down on his bed and faced Cass. "Do you guys have a history with him or something?"

"Not much of a history, no," the cyan inkling answered, taking a seat on his own bed. "But we have been at odds for a while. Virion's just that kind of person. For us, turf wars are a mix of fun and work. For Viri, I think it's mostly just the latter."

"Why don't you guys just treat it more like work, then?" Blue asked, casually glancing around the room. This time he noticed even more weapons sitting atop one of the dressers, a couple small shooters from the looks of it.

"We've talked about it a few times before. But battles have always been play for us, and we never want to change that. Maybe what we actually need is a fresh strategy. I guess that's where you come in."

"But why me?" Blue replied, now looking back Cass. "I've never been in a battle before. Maybe I'm no good."

Cassius shrugged. "We'll see. I can't say for sure why Tavi picked you, I haven't known you that long and she hasn't said anything to us about it. But I guess she has her reasons. Why'd you go along with it, anyway?"

Blue tilted his head down, feeling embarrassed. "I needed a place to stay and someone to show me around."

Cass couldn't help but laugh. "Good enough a reason as any, I guess." He stood and nodded toward the door. "So, you're a part of our team now. Wanna come out and play Smash Bros.? Gwen kicked my butt earlier and I need someone to take her down a notch."

Blue chuckled and nodded as he stood up from his bed. "Alright, sign me up."

* * *

 **A bit of a short chapter but hey, I didn't want to stress over making it longer. And sorry I did such a terrible job describing the flat, I tend to struggle with that kind of thing. Anyway, thanks a bunch for getting this far and I hope you stick around for more c:**


End file.
